


Another Auld Lang Syne

by fanbabble



Category: Rhett & Link
Genre: Angst and Feels, Angst with a Happy Ending, Inspired by Music, Lost Love, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-24
Updated: 2020-12-24
Packaged: 2021-03-11 04:13:14
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,544
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28278942
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/fanbabble/pseuds/fanbabble
Summary: A pair of lost loves meet by chance. Can they reconnect or has too much time passed?
Relationships: Rhett McLaughlin/Link Neal
Comments: 8
Kudos: 31





	Another Auld Lang Syne

**Author's Note:**

> This story is based on the amazing holiday soft rock song, "Same Old Lang Syne" by the incomparable Dan Fogelberg. It has been a favorite of mine since I was a child and writing a fic based on his musical story is a privilege. Some lyrics were used directly in this piece as a tribute to the beauty of his original song. 
> 
> ** Special thanks to my friend and fellow sad Christmas song lover, Lallyloo, for her constant enthusiasm for this piece and the encouragement along the way. **

Rhett recognized the set of the shoulders the minute he turned the corner into the frozen food aisle. “No... it couldn’t be”

The man in front of him was placing something in a shopping cart and when he turned to look at the frozen pies, Rhett’s suspicions were confirmed by the unmistakable profile. That jawline and goozle could only belong to one person, Link Neal. 

Rhett tucked his loaf of bread under his arm and slowly approached his old friend. He gently tugged on the sleeve of the man’s green army jacket. When Link turned, Rhett was struck by just how very blue his eyes were after all this time. Just as he remembered, they were like shining blue jewels, but now they were framed by thick rimmed glasses. 

“Link?” Rhett asked nervously.

There was a moment of uncertainty before Link exclaimed, “Rhett!” 

He threw his arms open wide as if to pull the tall man into a warm hug, but Link’s arm knocked his own backpack to the floor and spilled his wallet, keys, and various lip balms across the frozen food section. The two men broke out into embarrassed laughter as they both dropped to their knees to gather Link’s things. Once everything was back as it should be, Link finished what he had set out to do and wrapped his arms around his old friend. Rhett buried his nose in Link’s hair and held his shoulders tightly. The hug was familiar and comfortable, like coming home. Rhett didn’t want to let go. 

“Gosh, it’s great to see you man! What are you doing in Buies Creek?” Link asked as he pulled back from the embrace. 

“Just came back to have Christmas with the folks this year. My mom needed some bread for the stuffing, so here I am.” Rhett held his hands out and smiled. 

“The grocery store the day before Christmas is not where anyone wants to be.” Link laughed at his own joke. The sound filled the space and gave Rhett a warm tingly feeling in his chest. It was just as magical as the first time he’d heard it all those years ago.

“Yeah, well, gotta keep Mama Di happy.”

Link nodded. He stared at Rhett for a moment longer before cocking his head to the side and saying, “I’m done here. If you don’t have anything else to get, why don’t we go get a drink and catch up?”

Rhett agreed and followed Link down the aisle to the checkout stand. He ducked his head to hide the flush of excitement on his cheeks. His heart was about to pound out of his chest. Link… his Link… how long had it been?

Rhett stood and waited as Link’s groceries were totaled up and bagged. With the other man distracted he could take a moment to look at his lover from long ago. The hair was styled up now and peppered with a beautiful silver. His clothes hugged all the right places and looked expensive. Link had always loved fashion and looking good, so this new version was no surprise to Rhett. The thing that did give him pause was the little crows feet that had formed around Link’s eyes. They didn’t look bad by any means. In fact, they gave him an appearance of sophistication. He thought back to that scrawny kid who spent most of his nights curled up in Rhett’s bunk or laid out on the banks of the Cape Fear as they made love. So much time had passed. Age looked good on Link. 

“You ready, Rhett?”

The memories faded away and Rhett replied, “Yeah, let’s go.” He took half the bags from Link and followed him toward the exit. 

Link led him out to a high end sedan and popped the trunk. The pair loaded up the bags in awkward silence. 

“We can head over to Charlie’s,” Link said as he climbed into the driver’s seat. 

Rhett tried not to think too much about what all of this meant as he got into the car. He buckled up and turned to find Link staring at him with a small smile on his face. 

“You look exactly the same,” he said wistfully.

“You do too. Except for this..” Rhett touched the silver streak with just his fingertips and Link’s eyelids fluttered gently. “... I like it.”

Link blushed and looked away out the window. He shifted the car into drive and pulled out of the parking lot. 

The men tried three different bars before they realized nothing was open. Not on Christmas Eve. Eventually they ended up sitting in the parking lot of their old highschool with a six pack of Miller Light and a few mini bottles of Fireball whiskey from the liquor store up the street. 

The snow fell gently on the windshield of the car. It melted against the glass where the heater blew and left streaks as it dripped down. Rhett and Link sat quietly in the front seat sipping their beers and trying to avoid being lost in their embarrassment. There were so many things that Rhett wanted to say to Link and know about his life now, but he couldn’t bring himself to speak. His mom had kept him up to date with as much information as she knew, but she had lost contact with Link’s family as well and eventually the news dried up. The questions swirled through Rhett’s mind as he watched the snow begin to stick to the grass. 

“So what do you do these days?” Rhett asked. He crushed his first can and tossed it in the paper bag at his feet. 

“Um, I actually don’t do anything right now. I was writing for a while, but my wife didn’t think it was going anywhere. So for the last few years I’ve been focusing on managing the house and keeping us both fed.”

“You cook?! Man, I would never trust you in a kitchen. Remember that time you burned a pizza so bad the landlord had to buy a new oven?” 

Belly laughs filled the car as Link retold the conversation he had with the landlord trying to explain how it wasn’t his fault, but instead a faulty stove that actually caused the fire.

“We didn’t have to pay for the new one and that’s all that mattered at the time. We were so broke,” Link said as he sucked in air trying to catch his breath and stop the contagious giggling. 

Rhett calmed himself and said quietly, “Yeah, but we were happy.”

Link just nodded his head. He pulled out the little bottles of cinnamon whiskey and held them up to Rhett. “A toast?”

Rhett cracked the seal on his bottle and held it out toward Link as he said, “To innocence. We may not have had much, but we had each other.”

That familiar warmth spread through Link’s chest again and he felt himself blush. The pair clinked their bottles and swallowed the shots down. The burn felt good as it warmed their bodies and loosened up their nerves.

Link told Rhett more about his life and how he helped his wife with her architecture firm, how he did the invoices and kept her appointment book up to date. It took up a lot of time, so writing wasn’t really on the table anymore. Unfortunately, neither was a family. It wasn’t the big creative adventure he had always dreamed of, but it was a stable life and kept him warm, and safe, and dry. 

Rhett watched the other man’s face as he spoke. He noticed the tension in his voice and how the smile didn’t quite reach his eyes. The idea that his man was a second thought in anybody’s life tore at Rhett’s heart. 

He waited for Link to finish talking about his life before asking, “So, a wife?”

“Yeah…” Link looked down at the beer in his lap and played with the pop tab, “... that’s what we’re supposed to do right? It was just easier. After college, when you left…. I just couldn’t imagine being with another man, so I did what my mama and the pastor and society wanted and I married a woman.”

Rhett nodded in silent agreement.

When Link spoke again it was quieter as if he were revealing a truth he had held secret for a long time. “I’d like to say I love her, but I don’t like to lie.”

Rhett reached over and held Link’s hand gently. The smaller man opened his palm and laced their fingers together as he blinked away his tears. They sat in silence for a moment before Rhett said, “Let’s have another toast.” He handed another tiny bottle to Link and held his aloft, “To now… no matter how much time has passed we’re friends, always.” Even as they tossed back the shots, their hands remained entwined. 

The whiskey relaxed Link. He laid his head back on his seat and let his gaze take in the man that sat next to him. The place where their hands connected felt electric. Holding Rhett again, even if it was just his hand, stirred a desire in Link. He looked at the hair that had grown out into a soft swirling pompadour and the beard that hid the chin that Link knew Rhett was so self conscious of. He had grown into a beautiful man, of that there was no doubt.

“I’ve seen your music in the record store. You’re doing amazing. Climbing the charts.” Link squeezed Rhett’s hand and winked. 

Rhett laughed and said thank you. He couldn’t take his eyes off Link either.

“Whenever your songs come on the radio I sing along. Try to harmonize like we used to. Remember that?”

“Of course I do! I’ve never been able to sing as well as I do with you. It’s like our voices are meant to be together.” Rhett leaned forward into Link’s space. “We should write some songs together or something. Like the old days.”

Link laughed and rubbed the back of Rhett’s hand with his own. “That sounds amazing.” Rhett was looking at him with such fondness it was easy to imagine a life where that would be possible. “What’s touring like? Doing live shows?”

Rhett sighed. "The audience is heavenly, but the traveling is hell. It’s lonely out there all by myself.” Rhett did his best to stop there. It would have been so easy to invite Link on the road with him. To ask him to leave his life behind, but he wasn’t sure how fair it was or if he was just being selfish. 

As they sat in Link’s car, it was as if no time had passed. The men spent the next hour talking about their lives today and their memories of yesterday. The connection between the pair was just as intense as it had been back in college. The longer they talked the more the men flirted. Back and forth trading compliments about how they looked and who they’d become. It was as if all the mistakes of their days together were forgiven in an instant. The time apart had shown them that no grievance was too great to let pass if it’s for the person you love or loved once upon a time. 

The sun was beginning to set and Rhett knew Link had someone waiting for him at home, but he couldn’t bring himself to care. When the conversation had finally dissolved into heavy stares filled with questions, Rhett raised their joined hands and kissed the back of Link’s. He turned it over and kissed Link’s palm. Then his wrist. Rhett could feel Link’s pulse under his lips. It was racing. He looked up at the face of the man he had known across a lifetime and waited. Link reached forward and pulled Rhett in by the back of his neck pausing just a moment before sinking into the kind of kiss that you can feel in your toes. 

Years of repression and longing flowed between them. Link opened his mouth to deepen the kiss and Rhett met him with enthusiasm. Licking into the other’s mouth again and again. He pulled on Link’s elbow and coaxed him to cross the car’s console and settle on his large lap. Link pressed his body to Rhett’s and moaned at the feeling of Rhett’s hands as they roamed across his back and over his hips. Rhett’s lips found their way to Link’s neck and as he kissed his way down the 5 o’clock shadow, Link pulled back and whispered, “Rhett… Rhett stop.”

Through the haze of desire, Rhett felt his heart sink. He removed his lips and hands from Link’s body and looked at the beauty in his lap. The mixture of want and sadness on Link’s face spoke volumes. He turned and looked out the window as Link swung his leg over and settled back in the driver’s seat. 

“I can take care of you, Link… I can make you happy,” Rhett said quietly as he gazed out at the snow. It was a final plea from a man whose heart was on the verge of breaking. 

“I’m scared.”

“I know. I was scared once too and I let it cost me the best thing I ever had.” Rhett pulled his coat back on and wrapped his scarf around his neck. “You know where to find me.” With that Rhett quickly exited the car and started toward his parents home on foot. He had to go. The pain was too real. 

The snow turned into rain. It washed away the tears that stained Rhett’s cheeks. He got about half way down the block when he heard the sound of heavy footsteps splashing through puddles behind him. He turned back.

“RHETT!” 

Link was running toward him full speed. No coat and soaking wet, but with the biggest grin on his face. He launched himself at Rhett, who caught the smaller man in his arms and hugged him tightly to his chest. Link’s feet dangled off the ground as Rhett embraced him. He spoke a mile a minute.

“Rhett.. Rhett.. You’re right. I do know where to find you. In my heart… always in my heart… you’re what I want for the rest of my life. This is our chance to make it right. I may be scared, but as long as I’m with you I know I’ll be okay.” 

Rhett lowered Link to the ground and held his face in the palms of his hands. Link looked so small like this tucked against Rhett’s body, looking up at him through raindrop soaked eyelashes. His hands tucked against Rhett’s chest. Shivering and cold. But none of that seemed to phase him. He looked more content than he had all day. 

“I love you, always, Link.”

“I love you too, Rhett.”

This time when they kissed it was slow and deliberate. A promise for now and tomorrow. A promise for the future. A kiss full of love and devotion: just as it would be on the day Link moved to L.A., and the day they got married, and the day they adopted a baby boy, who they named Daniel. For innocence, for now, and for always.


End file.
